Although William Robert Colton executed numerous sculptures based on mythological subjects, his Diploma work ‘The Young Diana’ is a contemporary portrait bust, rather than a depiction of the Roman goddess. Like many New Sculpture movement artists, the image of the child was central to Colton’s oeuvre in that it signalled hope and renewal, particularly in the period following the First World War. Colton had exhibited a bronze bust titled 'Diana' at the Royal Academy exhibition in 1917.